Miami University Board Of Trustees Approve Renovations

By Claire Williams

Miami University journalism student

The Miami University Board of Trustees voted to move forward with the renovation of several older dorms and one academic building at their most recent meeting. The renovations will begin next fall.

Four dorms are scheduled to be renovated in the upcoming year: MacCracken, Richard, Minnich, and Scott Halls. As well as these dorms, Pearson Hall, Miami's biological science building, will get a makeover as well.

The dorm projects are part of the Miami master housing plan, which aims to renovate a majority of Miami’s older dorms over the next several years. The entire cost of next year's projects is estimated to be around 146 million dollars.

Sorority Eviction

Included in these plans would be the renovation of the sorority suites. Sorority suites are where the Greek women are housed on campus.

There are eighteen recognized sororities on Miami’s campus, and a majority of the suites are housed in Richard and MacCracken.

The renovation plans have left many of the women to wonder where their sororities will go.

"Richard houses like ten of the sorority suites," says sophomore and Alpha Delta Pi Brie Moore. "So while a lot of them are in dire need of renovation, it’s going to be a huge inconvenience and it’s going to throw off more people than just the sorority girls."

She says she's excited about the prospect of a new suite, but the complications concern her.

Sorority women would not be able to use their suites for the year that the dorms are under construction.

In addition to the sorority sisters having to find new places to live, there are also concerns over where their supplies would be held and how recruitment would be affected for next spring. Things like ritual items, decorations, and other sorority property could be less accessible to the members and meetings could be disrupted.

Effects On Miami Students

Aside from the Greek community, the renovation of the dorms and Pearson Hall will affect other parts of the Miami student body.

David Fenderson, a non-Greek Miami student, says it feels like the campus renovation and construction never seems to stop.

"Personally, I just think it’s too much construction. If a building is old and needs it, then I understand. But some of these places are fine." After hearing the budget for the project, Fenderson muttered:

"You could do a lot more with that money than just make things pretty."

The dorms are scheduled to be completed by the end of the 2018 school year.

Meeting Notes

In addition to the renovation projects, the Trustees also approved the tenure and promotion of 26 Miami faculty.

At the meeting the university also announced that it had received a record number of applications for admission for the upcoming school year. More than 30 thousand students applied for admittance Fall 2017.

President Gregory Crawford addressed the issue of drinking on Miami's campus, updating the board on the university's efforts to curb binge and blackout drinking.

"We are committed to doing everything we can to ensure the health and well-being of our students, but to make a difference it will take everyone, including university employees, community members, alumni and parents, who are absolutely instrumental in this fight," Crawford says. "But most importantly, students must step up and make responsible choices. They do not have to join in their peers’ bad behavior."

Upcoming Patch stories will explore the university's efforts to change the drinking culture.

Photo: Miami University is considered to have one of the most attractive public university campuses. The red brick buildings, as well as the quality of education, helped the university earn the reputation of being a Public Ivy. -- Photos by Claire Williams.